The Act Party will today announce it is looking to stand candidates in the upcoming local council elections, saying it’s “time for a clean-out”.
Leader David Seymour is expected to hold a press conference in Wellington later on Tuesday to call for expressions of interest from New Zealanders to stand for their local council under the Act Party banner. Local elections will be held in October.
This will be the first time Act has looked to put forward candidates in local elections.
Seymour described it as an “exploratory campaign”. He said national political parties putting forward local candidates hasn’t always been popular, but he reckoned “better representation” is needed on councils.
“If good people show up wanting to stand and we think we can win some, we will go for it,” he said.
“I think it’s better to be trying new things even if they don’t work out the first time than never try at all.”
Act won’t be considering challenging mayoral seats as Seymour said the party needed to be “realistic”. He believed people needed to “show what you can deliver before you try and take on big prizes”.
“Start with people that can get around the council, learn the skills, and then work their way up,” he said.
Candidates would be expected to raise money to fund their own campaigns.
“You’re not going to see helicopter candidates funded from outside your town ... If you can’t fundraise money for your campaign, maybe people are trying to tell you something.”
He will highlight Act’s key focuses in government, such as addressing the cost of living, wasteful spending, and co-governance, and suggest Act councillors would prioritise core issues like these, such as lowering rates and scrapping “nice-to-haves”.
“We want to end wasteful spending, end massive rate rises, end the war on cars, and start treating people respectfully regardless of race,” Seymour said.
He’s expected to say councils have missed the memo that Kiwis voted for “real change” in 2023 and believes it is “time for a clean-out” in local politics.
Act leader David Seymour is expected to make the announcement on Tuesday. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Act has grown its support significantly over the past decade in central government elections.
In 2017, it received just 0.5% of the vote. That jumped to 7.6% in 2020 and then 8.64% in the 2023 election, enough to help National and NZ First form a government.
Seymour has held the Epsom seat since 2014. In 2023, the party’s deputy, Brooke van Velden, scored the party’s second electorate seat with Tāmaki.
Although Act hasn’t had councillors elected under its banner previously, that hasn’t stopped the party making its thoughts heard on local politics.
Just last week, Seymour issued a statement saying local councils should ditch complex procurement policies in favour of new rules from central government.
One of his MPs, Mark Cameron, lodged a Member’s Bill last year that would restore provisions to the Resource Management Act prohibiting councils from considering climate change as a factor in their plans.
A policy of Act’s at the 2023 election was to share GST with councils to fund local infrastructure. The party’s coalition agreement with National commits to considering this.
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.
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